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IPMAN indicts FG of ethical abuses in lingering leadership crisis

By BusinessNews Staff on May 30, 2015

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) on Thursday alleged that the federal government could be guilty of encouraging the internal leadership crisis that is presently rocking the association.
A faction of IPMAN led by its National President, Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo stated in Abuja that the government through its actions may not be absolutely innocent of the division in the rank and file of the association.
They explained at a briefing with journalists to condemn recent reports that the government through the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Senator Joel Ikenya has allegedly recognised its faction led by Chief Obasi Lawson, that the government could be guilty of abuse of its statutory authorities over it amongst others.
The factional IPMAN also warned that by such reported action, the government may have taken to fan the embers of division in the association which could degenerate into another industrial disharmony in the country’s downstream petroleum industry.
While speaking on the purported recognition of Lawson by the government, Okoronkwo stated that the association cannot be classified as a labour or trade union whose activities are directly or indirectly run by the government through extant labour laws in the country, but a collaboration of traders in common good to increase their collaborative strength.
Following from this, Okoronkwo said that the national leadership of the association cannot be determined by the federal government through a fiat in the form of letters of recognition. It thus questioned the government’s sincerity in mediating in its leadership crisis.
IPMAN had since May 2014 been overwhelmed by factional tussle for its national leadership.

Leading the intrigues for the soul of the association are Okoronkwo and Lawson, who have in the last one year run parallel IPMAN even though there are subsisting court suits on the situation.
However, Okoronkwo said at the briefing that: “IPMAN is a duly registered association of corporate organisations who work together for the common purpose of promoting a stress-free access of Nigerians to petroleum products in every parts of the country.
In accordance with the provisions of a registered constitution they adopted themselves, it is not a trade union whereby its affairs fall under the purview of the federal ministry of labour and productivity.”
He further explained: “By the same fact, its leadership is determined in accordance with the provisions of its registered constitution and not by any external factor including the minister of labour and productivity.”
Okoronkwo who equally debunked alleged claims that the government’s recognition to Lawson had come after a presidential committee set up to mediate in the crisis had made its recommendations to that effect, stated that there was never such committee set up by the government.
He said: “There was never a presidential committee to look into the leadership crisis in IPMAN as referred to in the purported letter by the out-of-office minister of labour and productivity.
Rather, what occurred was the constitution of a presidential committee to address a dispute between IPMAN and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).”
“Granted that IPMAN is neither a trade union nor a government parastatal, the circumstances of the president setting up a committee with a mandate to resolve its leadership crisis does not exist.
If there was no such circumstance and an associated phantom presidential committee, there could not have been any recommendation for Mr. President to approve in respect of recognising the said Obasi Lawson as national president of IPMAN,” Okoronkwo said.
Stating that the alleged attempt to foist Lawson on the association through the purported letter of recognition, Okoronkwo noted that such acts amounted to abuse of process and contempt of court, as the leadership dispute is still a subject of litigation at the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt division.

[ThisDay]

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